"The Silent Ascension"

The silence in the ruined cathedral was deafening, heavy with an unseen weight that pressed down on me like an iron shroud. The statues that lined the walls loomed like forgotten sentinels, their faces worn away by time, their empty gazes locked onto the center of the vast hall.

I clenched my knife, my knuckles turning white as my breath came shallow. The system's message still burned in my mind:

[New Objective: Escape the Forgotten Archive][Warning: Unknown Entity Approaching]

The whisper of movement echoed from behind one of the towering statues, a soft shuffle against the cracked marble. My muscles tensed as I turned my gaze toward the shifting shadows, but I saw nothing—only the endless rows of statues stretching into the darkness.

"You were not meant to find this place."

The voice did not come from the system. It was deep, resonant, and ancient, as if the very stones of the cathedral had spoken. My pulse quickened, a cold dread settling in my bones.

The shadows shifted again, but this time, they didn't retreat. They congealed, taking shape, forming a figure draped in ragged black robes that fluttered despite the absence of wind. It was tall—unnaturally so—its elongated limbs wrapped in strips of decayed cloth. Its face was nothing but a void, a swirling abyss of darkness where features should have been.

And it was watching me.

[Entity Identified: ???]

[Threat Level: ???]

The system's lack of information made my blood turn to ice. This was something even it didn't recognize. Or worse, something it wasn't willing to define.

I took a step back, my body screaming at me to run, but my legs felt leaden, trapped beneath the weight of the entity's presence. It took a slow step forward, the sound of its movement sending ripples through the still air.

"You are not ready," it said, its voice an eerie calm. "Turn back."

I swallowed hard. "I don't think I can."

A silence stretched between us, thick with unspoken knowledge. Then, without warning, the entity raised its hand. Darkness erupted from its fingers like tendrils of ink, stretching across the marble floor toward me.

I reacted on instinct, throwing myself to the side just as the shadows struck where I had stood a second earlier. The ground cracked and blackened, as if scorched by something beyond fire.

[Emergency Protocol Engaged: Adaptive Reflex Online]

The system's voice was clear in my mind, but I had no time to process it. The entity moved again, its presence blurring like a mirage. My body reacted before my mind did—ducking, twisting, dodging as tendrils lashed out again, barely missing me.

This wasn't a fight I could win. Not now.

My gaze flicked toward the cathedral's grand entrance—tall, arched doors of darkened wood, shut tight as if barring the way out. But there had to be another exit. My only hope was to find it before the entity caught me.

I turned and ran.

The moment I moved, the entity shrieked. The air rippled as it surged after me, closing the distance with terrifying speed. I threw myself down the nearest corridor, the walls narrowing as I sprinted past broken pillars and shattered relics. The ground beneath me trembled as another blast of shadow struck just behind me, close enough that I felt the unnatural cold claw at my back.

[Survival Mode Engaged: Escape in Progress]

My lungs burned as I pushed forward, my vision tunneling as I searched desperately for a way out. The corridor split into multiple paths ahead, each one darker than the last. I had no time to choose carefully.

I took the left path.

The walls grew closer, the air denser, the shadows pressing in from every side. My own footsteps echoed strangely, distorted, as if I was running through something that wasn't entirely real.

Then, suddenly, the corridor opened into another chamber. This one was smaller, circular, with a single raised platform at its center. Upon it rested a pedestal, much like the one I had seen earlier—but this one was shattered, its remains strewn across the floor in jagged fragments.

Beyond the pedestal, a passageway yawned open, leading into further darkness. But before I could move toward it, a familiar hum filled the air.

My crystal pulsed wildly at my waist.

Then, as if responding to its call, the shattered fragments of the pedestal began to glow. The pieces lifted from the ground, trembling, their edges outlined in flickering blue light. They swirled together, reforming, reshaping—until something entirely new hovered above the ruins of the pedestal.

A key.

It wasn't like any key I had ever seen before. It was forged from pure energy, its form shifting slightly, as if struggling to hold itself together. But I didn't need to question what it was.

I knew.

[System Override Detected: Artifact Identified]

[Key of the Archive Acquired]

The entity's scream rang through the corridors behind me, furious, vengeful. The shadows surged forward, creeping along the walls, stretching toward the chamber.

I lunged for the key, my fingers wrapping around its pulsing form. The moment I touched it, a blinding surge of energy shot through me. The chamber walls trembled, the very air around me distorting.

A new message flickered before my eyes:

[Escape Route Unlocked]

The passage beyond the pedestal suddenly shifted, its darkness peeling away to reveal a spiraling staircase leading upward.

No time to think. No time to hesitate.

I ran.

The shadows shrieked behind me, the entity's rage a tangible force that threatened to pull me back into the abyss. But I forced my battered body forward, every step up the winding staircase feeling like a battle against gravity itself.

The light above grew brighter. The system's messages continued to flash, but I barely registered them.

Then, just as I felt the entity's presence surge one last time, the staircase ended.

I threw myself forward—

And fell into the light.